--- title: What Is the Plague? Here's What to Know About Bubonic Plague description: The plague is once again in the news; there are two new cases in New Mexico. Here's what you need to know. canonical: https://time.com/4836691/what-is-the-plague/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-28T16:50:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T06:20:27.000Z article:section: Health og:title: People Are Still Getting the Plague. Here's What to Know og:description: Though it's rare, a few new cases of the plague are popping up in New Mexico og:url: https://time.com/4836691/what-is-the-plague/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b4948072a947abe/6988d3b58fd2ee8bcc357c2f/plague1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3780 og:image:height: 2126 og:image:alt: Yersinia Pestis og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: People Are Still Getting the Plague. Here's What to Know twitter:description: Though it's rare, a few new cases of the plague are popping up in New Mexico twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b4948072a947abe/6988d3b58fd2ee8bcc357c2f/plague1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # People Are Still Getting the Plague. Here's What You Need to Know > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=3443ceaf-b725-4b8d-962a-cb49ba352a95&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Weekdays | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Weekly | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Twice a week | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=3443ceaf-b725-4b8d-962a-cb49ba352a95&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=3443ceaf-b725-4b8d-962a-cb49ba352a95&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (health, weekdays), Worth Your Time (culture, weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=3443ceaf-b725-4b8d-962a-cb49ba352a95&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Battle Against Superbugs [Watch (HLS stream): The Battle Against Superbugs](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/av4BYsf3.m3u8) (2:08)  _Published 2017-05-04. TIME's Alice Park and Lon Tweeten walk you through the superbug phenomenon._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:20 AM UTCPublished: Jun 28, 2017 4:50 PM UTC  Yersinia pestis (Pasteurella pestis) is the bacterium responsible for the bubonic plague. Yersinia pestis (Pasteurella pestis) is the bacterium responsible for the bubonic plague. Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:20 AM UTCPublished: Jun 28, 2017 4:50 PM UTC Two counties in Arizona have confirmed that fleas in the area have tested positive for the plague. The infected fleas were [initially found](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/13/arizona-fleas-carrying-plague-health-departments-warn.html) on prairie dogs in Coconino County, and health experts have confirmed there are fleas carrying the disease in Navajo County as well. So far, no cases of plague have been found among people in Arizona, but the news comes just a months after three [cases of plague](http://time.com/4834612/plague-new-mexico-two-cases/?iid=sr-link3) in humans were confirmed in New Mexico. Should you be worried? TIME breaks down what you need to know about bubonic plague in the U.S. ## **What is the plague?** Plague is an infectious disease that is caused by the _Yersinia pestis_ bacteria. It largely affects rodents, but other animals and humans can be infected as well. People can get the plague if they are bitten by an infected flea or if they come in contact with tissues or fluids of an animal that has the disease. There are three different types of plague: bubonic, septicemic and pneumonic. More than 80% of plague cases in the U.S. are bubonic, which causes fever, headache, chills and weakness. There is a chance that people can become infected from close contact with humans who have the pneumonic plague, but it’s not common. ## **What happened in Arizona and New Mexico?** Health officials in the two Arizona counties have found that local fleas are carrying the disease. The counties are warning people to reduce their risk for potential exposure by taking precautions like avoiding sick or dead animals, preventing pets from running loose. The [New Mexico Department of Health reported](https://nmhealth.org/news/disease/2017/6/?view=574) in June that it had identified plague in three people. The first case was in a 63-year-old man. Health experts also identified plague in two women, one age 52 and another age 62, from Santa Fe County, bringing the total number of plague cases in the state to three so far in 2017, though no one has died. All three people needed to be hospitalized. No further information has been provided about how the women contracted the disease. ## **Is the plague common?** No. In the United States there are an average of seven human plague cases reported each year. Between 1900, when plague first appeared in the U.S., and 2012, the [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention](https://www.cdc.gov/) (CDC) [reports](https://www.cdc.gov/plague/faq/index.html) that there have been 1,006 cases of confirmed or probable plague cases in the U.S. There have been outbreaks of the disease worldwide, and about 1,000 to 2,000 cases are reported globally each year. ## **What are the symptoms of the plague?** People who get the bubonic plague may experience fever, chills and weakness as well as painful lymph nodes. Septicemic plague has similar symptoms, as well as possible shock and bleeding in the skin and organs. Some of a person’s tissue on their toes, fingers and nose could turn black and die. The last type of plague, pneumonic, is also characterized by fever and chills, as well as respiratory problems like chest pain, cough and shortness of breath. It’s considered the most severe form of the disease. ## **Is it deadly?** The death rate from plague is about 11%, thanks to the availability of antibiotics that can treat it. The CDC says the risk of death from the bubonic plague is likely even lower than that of the other strains. In the past, when there were no antibiotics to treat the plague, the mortality rate was estimated to be more than 65%. Left untreated, the disease can still be serious. ## **How can I protect myself?** For people who want to lower their already-low risk, experts recommend reducing the likelihood that rodents are around your home by getting rid of junk, cluttered firewood or brush or pet food outside. If a person needs to handle a potentially infected animal, the CDC recommends they use gloves and call their local health department about how to dispose of a dead animal. During camping or hiking, people should use bug repellent. Lastly, pets can pick up the disease, which is why people should use pest control products and seek medical help right away if a pet seems ill. “Pets that are allowed to roam and hunt can bring infected fleas from dead rodents back into the home, putting you and your children at risk,” said Dr. Paul Ettestad, a public health veterinarian for the New Mexico Department of Health [in a statement](https://nmhealth.org/news/disease/2017/6/?view=574). “Keeping your pets at home or on a leash and using an appropriate flea control product is important to protect you and your family.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Bacteria are everywhere, the tiny bugs can double their populations every few minutes and can live on any surface. Some bacteria can cause serious health problem. When they enter a bodies they make toxins and sometimes are immune systems can't fight them of. They make a sick from strep, tuberculosis, syphilis and other infections. Decades ago many people who infected suffered and die. In the 1940s, the first medical anti biotic was made from mold to destroy bacteria. It was called penicillin and it help to increase life expectancy by 10 years in just a few decade. Each bacterium is a single cell with the cell war. Antibiotics sort the bacteria by destroying the wall, war by impaling it's growth, war by destroying it's DNA. Some antibiotics targets specific bacteria while others seeking to destroy a number of different types. Since there arrival, antibiotics have been both over used and misused. We take them for the flu, which isn't affected by these drugs, but 80 % of the antibiotics sold are used in livestock. So they can end up in our water and food source While the drugs kill a great many bacteria, a few adapt and mutate into super bugs. [ SOUND ] They develop pumps that eject antibiotics or produce enzymes that destroy them. With fewer bacteria competing for resources, the super strains thrive Drug resistant illness kills 700, 000 worldwide each year. 10 million deaths are expected in 30 years, outpacing cancer deaths. [ MUSIC ] The answer may not be to just race for new and better drugs, but to put the brakes on how we use old ones. This means treating antibiotics more as a drug of last resort and limiting their use. Use in farming, that won't be easy but it maybe the only way to get super bugs before they get us. [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4836691/what-is-the-plague/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4836691/what-is-the-plague/"},"headline":"People Are Still Getting the Plague. Here's What You Need to Know","datePublished":"2017-06-28T16:50:34.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T06:20:27.000Z","description":"The plague is once again in the news; there are two new cases in New Mexico. Here's what you need to know.","url":"https://time.com/4836691/what-is-the-plague/","keywords":["Public Health","CDC","Infectious Disease","plague"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b4948072a947abe/6988d3b58fd2ee8bcc357c2f/plague1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6b4948072a947abe/6988d3b58fd2ee8bcc357c2f/plague1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Yersinia Pestis","caption":"Yersinia Pestis","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4836691/what-is-the-plague/","name":"People Are Still Getting the Plague. Here's What You Need to Know"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Battle Against Superbugs","description":"TIME's Alice Park and Lon Tweeten walk you through the superbug phenomenon.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/av4BYsf3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-05-04T17:06:43.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/av4BYsf3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4836691/what-is-the-plague/","duration":"PT2M8S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4836691/what-is-the-plague/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```